


Sole Supervisor

by The_Epitome_of_Pretense



Series: The Sole Saga [16]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Forehead Touching, Healthy Relationships, Holding Hands, Jealousy, Robot/Human Relationships, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:10:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Epitome_of_Pretense/pseuds/The_Epitome_of_Pretense
Summary: When Nick gets a little too flirty with Supervisor White of Graygarden, Sole can't help but worry—but not before getting up to some tomfoolery.





	Sole Supervisor

Sole let her eyes rove all about the greenhouse at Graygarden. She had to admit, it was a pretty impressive setup. 

“Boy,” Nick said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen tatos that big. Almost makes me wish I had a stomach.”

“Trust me, it’s not worth it,” Sole said. “Who do you think is running this place?”

She looked for someone who seemed to be in charge, but the only ones there were roughly a dozen Mr. Handy bots and one Miss Nanny. 

Sole approached the pearl-colored Nanny, who was hovering by a row of raised soil beds. She cleared her throat. 

“Excuse me,” she said.

The bot directed an optical at her, bobbing in the air slightly as if Sole’s presence surprised her, though no hint of shock colored her voice.  

“Welcome to Graygarden darling,” she said. 

Her voice carried a smooth, confident tone Sole had only heard in movies. 

“Thank you,” Sole said. “What is this place?”

“This is the first and only hydroponics facility run entirely by robots. You may call me Supervisor White.”

“You must have your hands full with a setup this nice,” Nick said. 

“Oh, not at all, not at all. We have a very efficient hierarchy, you see. Everyone knows what is expected of them, so operations run smoothly round the clock.”

“Sure you could work all day, but do you want to?”

White gave a little chuckle. 

“You’re sweet to be concerned,” she said, “but it is nothing less than our pleasure to look after Graygarden.”

Sole couldn’t help but wonder why a man who doesn’t eat was so interested in the goings on of a greenhouse, but she put the thought aside. 

“So there’s not even one person here?” she said.

The bot gave a nod with one of her opticals. 

“That’s right, darling. We are entirely self-sufficient, with no need for human guidance.”

“No wonder it’s in such great shape,” Nick said. 

He and White shared a laugh. 

_ Jeez, I’m right here,  _ Sole thought. 

She shot him a glance, but he was too busy looking at White. The supervisor must have seen her grimace. 

“Don’t take it personally, darling,” White said. “It’s not your fault that your species is inherently filthy.”

Sole found it difficult not to take such a specific jab personally. She decided to change the subject.

“I… I think I remember seeing this place on the news,” she said. “One of Robco’s senior engineers designed it, right?”

“Yes, we owe Graygarden’s existence to the genius of Dr. Edward Gray.”

“I remember him. He seemed more than a little eccentric.”

White paused in her work.

“You seem a bit confused, darling,” her tone grew condescending. “You are far too young to remember anything that happened before the war.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Of course, darling,” she said, returning her attention to the garden. “A lady knows when not to pry. Now where was I? Oh yes… Robotics and artificial intelligence were our creator’s great passions, rivaled only by his love of television. Perhaps you’ve noticed that I possess a rather singular personality, as do the other supervisors.”

“You’re no synth, but you’ve sure got panache,” Nick said with a smirk. 

Sole did a double take. She knew that smirk. It was the same one he always wore when he was flirting with her. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or continue standing there in shocked silence. 

She looked the supervisor up and down. Sure, her enamel coating was still shiny and mostly intact, but… 

_ Really?  _ she thought. 

White gave a coquettish little laugh. 

“Well,” she said, “aren’t you a dear, Mr…. oh, I don’t believe I caught your name.”

She hovered past Sole and reached out her grasping appendage as though for a handshake. 

“Name’s Valentine. Nick Valentine. If I may…” he took her grasper and kissed it. 

Sole couldn’t stop herself from raising her eyebrows in surprise. 

“My my my,” White said. “It’s rare to find such a gentlemen these days.”

“You could say I’m one of a kind.”

There was that smirk again. Sole wondered how her eyebrows didn’t fly right off her face. 

“Word from the Minutemen is that there was some sort of trouble here?” Sole said.

White turned a single optical her way; the other two stayed trained on Nick. 

“Oh yes. Tell me, what do you think of the water here?”

Sole glanced at a watering pail nearby. Green flecks floated in the murky liquid, and a rainbow sheen coated the surface. 

“...It could be better,” she said. 

“Oh it’s ghastly, simply ghastly. We get our supply from the water treatment facility south of here…” her voice fell to a more sultry, imploring tone. She directed all three opticals at Nick. “I don’t suppose you two would mind taking a look, would you?”

“We’ll see what we can do,” he said. “I’d hate to let such a first-class place like this have anything less than the best.”

He was still smirking. Sole felt her face flush with annoyance.

“Let’s get going. We’re burning daylight,” she said. 

She took him by the arm and lead him out the door. 

The cool air outside calmed her nerves. She almost laughed at herself for letting the scene get to her. The very idea of Nick running off with a Nanny bot—it was nothing short of comedic. 

“You’re in a hurry,” Nick said. “If this has to do with the remark about humans making a mess of things, you know I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know you didn’t,” she said with a laugh.  

They walked in silence for a little while. The ghost of that smirk still lingered on his face. In spite of her shock, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give him a hard time. She elbowed him. 

“So. Supervisor White, huh?” she said.

He seemed to shake himself from a deep thought. 

“What about her?” he said. 

“You ain’t slick, I saw what was going on there.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh please, it was so obvious. You’ve gotta be the biggest flirt on the planet.”

“Wha—with White? I was just being polite.”

“Whatever that was, it was way past polite. I may be the worst sleuth in the commonwealth, but I’m not blind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She grinned and elbowed him again.

“Admit it,” she said. 

“Admit what?”

“You think she’s cute.”

“I do not.”

“You think she’s a big ol’ ball of love.”

“No, I just… find it impressive how she managed to stay in such good shape after all these years.”

“That’s a shape you’d like to get your hands on, huh?”

“What? No!”

“You want to give her sweet, tender robo-kisses.”

“I do not—how would we even—I mean, she doesn’t even have lips.”

“But you’ve already imagined it, haven’t you?”

He pointed a finger at her. 

“Y—you shut your mouth,” he said. 

Sole doubled over in a fit of laughter. She leaned on him for support, but he shook her off with a grumble. She clung to a nearby tree instead. 

“You have!” she gasped. “Holy shit, I was just joking, but you have! Nick, you dog!”

“You can’t prove that, and I’ll never admit to it.”

“For a guy who can’t blush, you’re blushing pretty hard.”

“If you’re done having a good time at my expense, can we at least keep going?”

She calmed herself a little and caught her breath. 

“Well, I wouldn’t say watching my man get flirty with another gal qualifies as a good time.”

“You know, green doesn’t suit you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m onto you. You’re just making a fuss because you’re jealous.”

“Of that snooty, overgrown baseball? I think not.”

“Oh yes you are. She’s got a nice garden and had my attention for half a minute. You are as green as an emerald.”

She pursed her lips.

“I mean. Maybe a little,” she said, then mumbled, “You never kiss my hand like that.”

He chuckled.

“You know you don’t need to worry, right?” he said in a softer tone.

“I know, I know. I guess it just caught me a little off-guard.”

“Well... I suppose I could try to tone it down a little, too. I’ll admit that maybe…” he shrugged, “maybe I do flirt some.”

“Just some?”

“Okay, more than some. After so many years of assuming no one would be interested, you don’t really think about it, you know?”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Anyway, she’s not my type. Seems a bit full of herself.”

“That’s the reason? Not because she’s a floating orb?”

“I figured that went without saying.”

“And I figured you like ’em round.”

“No, lucky for you I like ’em fresh out of the freezer. And…” his look softened, “the last thing I want to do is hurt you. I hope you know that.”

“I know you won’t break my heart again,” Sole squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. “So what if you want a little diga-diga-do from White—”

“A little what?”

“You know.”

She shimmied her shoulders. 

“Oh—come on, no,” he grimaced. “Not even sure how that would work…”

“You’re figuring it out right now, huh?”

He put a hand to his brow.

“For pete’s sake. I draw the line way before that.” 

“So there is a line.”

“Can we change the subject?”

“Oh, but this one is so entertaining.”

“What do I have to do to convince you that you’re my gal, huh?”

“Give me a minute, I’ll bet I can think of something good.”

“And wait five years to resolve this? Nah.”

Before she could reply, he took her by the waist and yanked her close. 

“Goodness, be careful with me,” Sole said. “I’m not made of steel like White, you know.”

“I’m glad you’re made of something softer. And as far as Supervisor White goes—she may be a pretty little circle, but she’s got nothing on your curves,” he said, tracing his hand from her hip to her shoulder. 

He brought his fingers to rest on her neck, then let out a laugh. 

“And the way you’re always burning up at my touch…” he said. 

Sole couldn’t stop herself from grinning.

“What else can an ice cube do but melt?”

“I’ll have to get a bucket before too long,” he mumbled, pressing kiss after kiss to her cheek. 

She laced her fingers together behind his neck. 

“I know I shouldn’t worry,” she said, “but sometimes I wonder why you stick around.”

He pulled away.

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged.

“I’ve always admired you so much, it’s a little hard to believe that you find anything redeeming in me.”

He gave her an incredulous look.

“Now don’t tell me you think I’m too good for you or something,” he scoffed. 

“I mean—I’ve just been out here screwing around trying to survive, but you’ve got a successful business and lots of people who respect you and… I don’t know. It was a bit intimidating at first.”

“Huh. Can’t say I’ve ever intimidated someone for that reason before,” he said, then shook his head. 

“Not that you would know if you had,” Sole said.

“I guess that’s true enough. But here’s the thing,” he met her eyes and took her face in his hands. “You don’t have to be the best at anything to win my respect. You just have to be willing to lend a helping hand to whoever needs it. And that’s exactly what I’ve seen. So I guess what I’m saying is… That stuff between your ears? That’s the reason I keep you around; that’s what I trust. I know you’ll always have my back.”

“And you’ll have mine?”

He took off his hat and touched his forehead to hers. 

“I think you already know the answer.”

A breeze picked up, knocking her own hat off her head. Nick moved to grab it, but Sole held him close. 

“Leave it,” she said. “I want a little bit more of this.”

The breeze tousled her hair, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She could feel Nick watching something over her shoulder.

“It sure is making tracks,” he said.

Sole tore herself away and followed his look. Her hat had already made it several yards away—and was still rolling on its brim.

“Dang it—'once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!’” she said, then dashed after it.

“‘God for Harry, England, and St. George,’” Nick laughed, following fast upon her heels.

Sole caught up to the wayward bowler and snatched it off the ground. She dusted away the dirt and grass, then placed it on her head. Nick pushed it down over her eyes. 

“Hey!” she said.

“Just making sure it doesn’t escape again.”

“You ornery thing.” She adjusted it to where she could see. “I guess we should get a move on to the water treatment facility. I hope it’s something we can actually fix.”

“Probably just a clog. I doubt it’ll give us too much trouble,” he said. 

He took her hand, and together they started south.

She let her eyes rove about the Commonwealth, at the wooded view that stretched before her with the lake in the distance, at last landing on Nick. She had to admit, she had a pretty impressive setup. 

**Author's Note:**

> *Spongebob voice* You like Supervisor White, don't you, Nick? 
> 
> I'm sorry, but you canNOT convince me that Nick wasn't getting his flirt on with White in the gameplay. So I wrote this.   
> *Final Pam voice* GOD FORGIVE ME
> 
> But hey, what's sexier than a couple talking about their issues and working through things in a healthy way?
> 
> "Once more unto the breach" and "God for Harry, England, and St. George!" are quotes from Henry V, by my man Billy Shakes


End file.
